ADL Urges Fcc Probe Radio Bias

July 14, 1978

LOS ANGELES (Jul. 13)

The Anti-Defamation League of B’nai B’rith has requested the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to fully investigate the proposed sale of Monterey, Calif. radio station KWAV to an individual who is reported to have pledged to exclude Jews from the station’s religious programming.

In a letter to the FCC, David A. Lehrer, ADL’s Western States Counsel, expressed the ADL’s concern that “a licensee of the federal government, a person entrusted with control over a limited national resource, should evidence the intent to abuse that privilege by engaging in anti-Semitic discrimination in determining to whom programming will be made available.”

Lehrer noted in his letter that the discriminatory policy enunciated by James E. Brown of Christian Awareness Broadcasting Systems Division may well be in contravention of federal law and regulations as well as California law. Brown is reported to have said that he will broadcast Christian programs and exclude Jews from such programs except for “Jewish people…who have converted to Christianity.”

In his letter, Lehrer stated: “The ADL views with great concern the decision of an enterprise to predicate business relationships on the basis of the religious beliefs of the individuals with whom the firm deals. The injection of bigoted considerations into the business arena is totally unacceptable and cannot be allowed to go unchallenged. We believe that the avowed policy of KWAV to determine who will be allowed access to the public airwaves on the basis of religions should be prevented by firm FCC action.”